In his series of tweets paying tribute to his ex-teammates, former India batsman VVS Laxman on Saturday (June 13) heaped effusive praise over Irfan Pathan.

See Also: VVS Laxman pays tribute to MS Dhoni, “Composure under pressure was his calling card”

Laxman lauded the former India all-rounder for his fierce passion for the game despite facing many hurdles in his career.

"Despite grappling with his fair share of challenges, @IrfanPathan retained his fierce passion for the sport. Along the way, he embraced the role of an inspirational mentor-cum-coach when still an active first-class player, willingly sharing his wisdom and experience," Laxman tweeted.

Pathan was quick to respond and said: "Thank you bhai. It was absolute privilage to have shared dressing with you and now our friendship."

Irfan Pathan burst onto the scene during India’s tour of Australia in 2003-04 as a 19-year-old. He went on to represent the country in 29 Tests (1105 runs and 100 wickets), 120 ODIs (1544 runs and 173 wickets) and 24 T20Is (172 runs and 28 wickets).

Playing against Pakistan brought the best out of Irfan. He took a Test hat-trick against the arch-rivals back in 2006 in Karachi and produced a Man-of-the-Match performance at the World T20 final in Johannesburg a year later.

The 35-year-old announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in January this year.